For months, residents of the Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates have feared that the property’s uncommunicative owners will want to move it in exchange for a more lucrative development deal after the Palisades fire destroyed the rental property, which has about 170 units.
A confidential memorandum listing the Bowl for sale indicates that the owners intend to do just that.
The memorandum, posted quietly on a website associated with global marketing firm CBRE, says the Palisades fire has created a “blank canvas for redevelopment” on a site “ideally positioned for a flexible residential or mixed-use project.”
“I just thought, oh my god, this is a lot of hype and false advertising,” said Lisa Ross, a 33-year-old Bowl resident and Realtor. “How can they print this?”
Neither the current owners of the Bowl nor the real estate companies listed in the memorandum responded to requests for comment.
The memorandum describes the current single-family residence as “suitable” for developers; however, urban and mobile housing law experts have painted a different picture.
Debris from the Pacific Palisades Bowl fire in January 2026.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
“Multi-family and mixed-use development on this site is not permitted by existing zoning and land use laws,” Mayor Karen Bass’ office said in a statement Wednesday, adding that only single-family homes or mobile park reconstruction are currently allowed. “Mayor Bass will continue to take action again [work] and residents to bring back the Palisades community.”
City Council member Traci Park reiterated her focus on rebuilding the mobile home park and allowing residents to return, when a spokesperson noted that she was not happy with the strength of the redevelopment efforts from the builder.
Zoning changes generally require a city council vote and are subject to the mayor’s approval or veto.
Beyond zoning laws, the site is currently governed by a state law that requires cities to preserve affordable housing along the coast and a city ordinance that protects mobile home residents from sudden displacement.
Spencer Pratt, a Palisades resident and staunch supporter of the mobile home community, criticized the mayor and owners in a statement sent to The Times. “It’s unfortunate that Karen Bass didn’t talk about the mobile home residents affected by the fire,” he said, “and that the current owner of the Bowl is ignoring good faith promises from residents to buy the property.”
The mayor’s office disputed this, saying Bass recently led a delegation of Palisadians, including mobile home owners, to Sacramento to advocate for recovery. “Mayor Bass’ priority is to get all Palisadian households — single-family homeowners, townhome owners, renters, mobile home owners.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass speaks during a private ceremony outside City Hall with religious leaders, LAPD officials and city officials to mark the one-year anniversary of the Eaton and Palisades fires on Jan. 7, 2026.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Bass also advocated for the federal government to include the Bowl in its cleanup efforts; however, the Federal Emergency Management Agency ultimately refused to include it, unlike other home parks affected by the Palisades fire. Its view: It could not trust its owners to redevelop the park as affordable housing.
Court rulings over the years have found the owners consistently failing to maintain infrastructure and working to close the park’s “high-end recreational community.” Residents also accused the owners of trying to circumvent rent control laws.
After the fire, it finally took over 13 months starting to clean up the debris.
Ross said he contacted the owners and private developers of the home park who were interested in buying the fire-ravaged property and allowing residents to rebuild within months. He also contacted the owners with the suggestion that the old residents should come together to buy the park. He didn’t hear anything back.
“They don’t communicate,” Ross said. “It’s a quarrelsome family, that’s why we’ve had so many problems with the maintenance and repair of the park.”
Pratt, who is running for mayor against Bass, also called on private developers like Rick Caruso to step in and save the Bowl. (Caruso’s team noted that his nonprofit rebuilding organization is looking into how to help Bowl residents.)
Ross is a fan of Pratt’s proposal. “We need those types of people – we need Rick Caruso. That would be great,” Ross said. To entertain a feast: “I will cook for him. I would make him all his favorite dishes.”
